Starting this fall Christan Fiction Blog will present book reviews in a different format than before. We will post a summary and description of the book, and at least two takes on the book from different reviewers and myself. If you are a book reviewer and would like to participate, please leave a comment. If you have a book, you want discussed, please contact me off loop. The next books for discussion are Tamika Johnson's Meet me at the Altar and Karen Kingsbury's Like Dandelion Dust.
Sweet Magnolia
Norma L. Jarrett
Summary
Summer Ledoux returns to her family’s New Orleans estate-the Ledoux Mansion for her wedding. While there she finds that her prestigious and well-guarded family name is steeped in dark secrets and a legacy curse that haunts both her and her sister Misa, a former supermodel. Harlem Moon, June, 256 pp, $16.95)
Take One: Shawneda Marks
Norma Jarrett offers readers a phenomenal read. The characters are believable and real. It delves into a much ignored topic in the black community that calls us to the carpet and shows the true effect of this bone in the african american communities closet. Setting the story between New Orleans and Houston brings the reader into the surroundings and settings with every turn of the page. For some the details would be too much but the intricate way this story unfolds is deserving of nothing less than a four star rating. Run to the nearest store and get yours today. 
Jarrett writes beautiful prose. Her close attention to detail, t romantic scenes, and New Orleans cultural references create an sweet, southern genteel mood for this story. Yet, the constant flashbacks and episodic chapters slow the story’s pace. Too many surprises and secrets add so much drama that it clouds the central themes of redemption and family responsibility from greater view. 
In less than six weeks this gospel diva will take a huge step at fulfilling a lifelong dream, and flying a commercial airline for the first time, to boot. Think I'm game for the adventure? Let me tell you. I'm hyper ventilating over here. But not for what you think.
